Generally mulch is made from various vegetable fibers (e.g., ground waste paper, digested paper pulp, wood chips, wood bark, and sawdust). Mulch materials have long been recognized as effective in providing a protective covering to soil, reducing the evaporation of moisture from the soil, retaining heat in the soil, and retarding the growth of weeds in a landscaped area. However, the primary purpose for using mulch materials is that it provides an aesthetically pleasing decorative covering for a landscaped area. "Landscaped area" hereinafter refers to any area where mulch is placed, e.g. field, lawn.
As a decorative covering, mulches are generally waste by-products of lumber operations (i.e., sawdust, wood chips or bark of cypress, cedar or redwood trees). Such mulches are used in their natural state without the addition of a color coating.
Mulch made from vegetable fibers normally looses its original color in a very short period (approximately four to five weeks, depending on weather conditions) after its initial installation. The loss of color or fading is generally due to the prolonged exposure of mulch to actinic light and varying weather conditions. "Actinic Light" is that radiant light in the spectral region which causes a change in color as a result of oxidation by such irradiation. Keeping the mulch fresh-looking requires frequent re-mulching of the landscaped area several times during the year. This expensive and inefficient process requires the removal of the old mulch from the landscaped area, and the purchase and continuous installation of new mulch. Accordingly, there remains a need for an efficient method of keeping the mulch fresh-looking for a longer period of time and eliminating the necessity of frequent re-mulching.
The present invention meets the need for an efficient method of keeping the mulch fresh-looking for a longer period of time and therefore, virtually eliminates the necessity of frequent re-mulching.
There are a wide variety of dye, paint, stain and pigment compositions which are well known in the art for imparting a brown color. These compositions may be employed in the present invention provided they are non-toxic to vegetation and capable of being sprayed in the form fine droplets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,137 discloses a "light mahogany" staining solution that may be used in the present invention. The staining solution comprises: about 1.4% of Brilliant Croceine M, about 0.6% of Resorcin Brown, about 0.3% of Napthol Blue Black, about 14.1% of glycol ethyl ether and about 83.6% of compatible solvent. Further example of colorant compositions well-known in the art that may be incorporated into the present invention is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 1,043,582 which discloses a brown wood coloring composition. The composition comprising of a brown aniline dye dissolved in a hydrocarbon solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. No. 4,716,060 discloses a method for spraying wood furniture and panelling with a colorant composition which resists oxidation and other weathering effects. The colorant combinations of dyes, stains and/or pigments are used in conjunction with 1-dodecanoyl-hexahydroazepines, a preservative compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,959 discloses the staining or coloring of wood surfaces of furniture or panelling with colored solutions having a tint similar to natural wood colors. The process involves submerging the wood product in a tank of the colorant solution under heat and pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,623,027 discloses a wood stain filler composition for wood surfaces prior to the application of a finishing coat on furniture surfaces. The composition consists of a combination of various dyes and/or pigments mixed with diethylene glycol monoethylether, a binder additive, polyvinyl alcohol and an inert filler.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,778 discloses a pre-coating composition for the application to furniture and wood panelling surfaces prior to the application of a finishing coat.